As I was scrolling the news during my commute home a few days ago, I came upon an article naming Perth as one of the world’s 10 healthiest cities.
As a Malaysian living in Perth, my natural reaction was to look for Kuala Lumpur. And there it was in the bottom 10 of the list of 89 countries. Right at the top of the list is Amsterdam, with a score of 6.97.
Compiled by online home rental booking platform Spotahome, the cities were judged on 10 criteria including annual sunshine hours, life expectancy, work-life balance, gym attendance, green space, electric car charging points, number of fast food outlets, obesity, air and water quality, and annual holidays.
The criteria obviously look at the entire psychical and mental well-being of the population.
While we can’t control the sunshine hours, Kuala Lumpur should find ways to reduce vehicles on the road and improve the cleanliness of tap water.
As for the Malaysian diet, I agree there are too many fast food restaurants and mamak shops in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysians are spoilt for choice, resulting in an obese society since exercise is not exactly a way of life.
The main factor, to me, would be work-life balance in Kuala Lumpur. I must admit, I never had this when I was back home. It was all work, work and work.
It is still all work but now when I’m off work for a bit to spend some time with my family, I am off. Even Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will need to leave me a message if I’m spending time with the children.
No one said to work less but there is a need to balance time for things that matter – family, exercise, some sunshine, and good wholesome food.
It’s not difficult, and it starts with us making that difference.
Spotahome World Healthiest Cities
1. Amsterdam, Netherlands
2. Oslo, Norway
3. Munich, Germany
4. Rotterdam, Netherlands
5. Berlin, Germany
6. Tallinn, Estonia
7. Vienna, Austria
8. Adelaide, Australia
9. Helsinki, Finland
10. Perth, Australia
Bottom 10
80. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
81. Manchester, UK
82. Cairo, Egypt
83. Izmir, Turkey
84. Bogota, Colombia
85. Mexico City, Mexico
86. Sao Paulo, Brazil
87. Shanghai, China
88. Istanbul, Turkey
89. Casablanca, Morocco
